hen spoke no more.

While he stood there beside the king there came into the chamber three
maidens; one of them, Theseus knew, was the daughter of Minos. Not like
the maidens of Greece were the princess and her two attendants: instead
of having on flowing garments and sandals and wearing their hair bound,
they had on dresses of gleaming material that were tight at the waists
and bell-shaped; the hair that streamed on their shoulders was made
wavy; they had on high shoes of a substance that shone like glass.
Never had Theseus looked upon maidens who were so strange.

They spoke to the king in the strange Cretan language; then Minos's
daughter made reverence to her father, and they went from the chamber.
Theseus watched them as they went through a long passage, walking
slowly on their high-heeled shoes.

Through the same passage the youths and maidens of Athens were
afterward brought. They came into a great hall. The walls were red and
on them were paintings in black--pictures of great bulls with girls and
slender youths struggling with them. It was a place for games and
shows, and Theseus stood with the youths and maidens of Athens and with
the people of the palace and watched what was happening.

They saw women charming snakes; then they saw a boxing match, and
afterward they all looked on a bout of wrestling. Theseus looked past
the wrestlers and he saw, at the other end of the hall, the daughter of
King Minos and her two attendant maidens.

One broad-shouldered and bearded man--overthrew all the wrestlers who
came to grips with him. He stood there boastfully, and Theseus was made
angry by the man's arrogance. Then, when no other wrestler would come
against him, he turned to leave the arena.

But Theseus stood in his way and pushed him back. The boastful man laid
hands upon him and pulled him into the arena. He strove to throw
Theseus as he had thrown the others; but he soon found that the youth
from Greece was a wrestler, too, and that he would have to strive hard
to overthrow him.

More eagerly than they had watched anything else the people of the
palace and the youths and maidens of Athens watched the bout between
Theseus and the lordly wrestler. Those from Athens who looked upon him
now thought that they had never seen Theseus look so tall and so
conquering before; beside the slender, dark-haired people of Crete he
looked like a statue of one of the gods.

Very adroit was the Cretan wrestler, and Theseus h